Engineering Commons^™

Dnepr Space Launch System, Robert J. Twiggs, Isc Kosmotras

Robert "Bob" Twiggs STEM Education Collection

A PowerPoint Presentation created by ISC Kosmotras and Professor Bob Twiggs titled "DNEPR Space Launch System" from May of 2003.

Narcissat: A 1kg Picosatellite, Kyle Doerksen, Michael Colonno

Robert "Bob" Twiggs STEM Education Collection

A PowerPoint Presentation created by Kyle Doerksen and Michael Colonno titled "NarcisSat: A 1kg Picosatellite" from April 29, 2003.

Spacecraft Design & Operations & Other Things, Robert J. Twiggs

Robert "Bob" Twiggs STEM Education Collection

A PowerPoint Presentation created by Professor Bob Twiggs titled "Spacecraft Design & Operations & Other Things" from April 4, 2003.

The Airline Quality Rating 2003, Brent D. Bowen, Dean Headley, Uno Aviation Institute

Faculty Books and Monographs

UNOAI Report 03-1

The Airline Quality Rating (AQR) was developed and first announced in early 1991 as an objective method of comparing airline quality on combined multiple performance criteria. This current report, the Airline Quality Rating 2003, reflects monthly Airline Quality Rating scores for 2002. AQR scores for the calendar year 2002 are based on 15 elements that focus on airline performance areas important to air travel consumers.

The Airline Quality Rating 2003 is a summary of month-by-month quality ratings for the 10 largest U.S. airlines operating during 2002. Using the Airline Quality Rating system of weighted averages and monthly …

Development Of A Force And Airspeed Data Acquisition System For The Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University 30x40 In. Subsonic Wind Tunnel, Toon Hong Foo

Master's Theses - Daytona Beach

The very first objective of performing most experiments is collecting numerical data. Values can be read from instruments or gauges by eye and recorded by hand. However, in certain experiments the amount of data collected may become so large that a human alone can not observe and record the data fast enough. This is where a data acquisition system comes into play. A data acquisition system is a network of devices that collects data from instruments and outputs it to hard copies or storage devices. A data acquisition system can also control instruments to take the data at the exact …

Residual Compressive Strength Prediction Of Carbon/Epoxy Laminates Subjected To Low Velocity Impact Damage, Christopher D. Hess

Master's Theses - Daytona Beach

Low energy impact damage to a composite structure is difficult to detect and can have profound effects on compressive strengths. Low energy impact damage is sometimes termed as barely visible impact damage (BVID). Detecting BVID is only possible by implementing nondestructive testing (NDT) techniques. Depending upon the support conditions, material system, laminate thickness, lay-up orientation, and impactor geometry, velocity, and hardness, the types of damage associated with BVID include delaminations, longitudinal and transverse matrix cracks, and in some cases, fiber breaks. Material properties such as the strengths of the matrix, fibers, fiber/matrix interface, and more important for BVID, ply interface …

The Effectiveness Of Monitor-Based Augmented Reality Paradigms For Learning Space-Related Technical Tasks, Christopher Michael Opalenik

Master's Theses - Daytona Beach

Currently today there are many types of media that can help individuals learn and excel in the on going effort to acquire knowledge for a specific trait or function in a workplace, laboratory, or learning facility. Technology has advanced in the fields of transportation, information gathering, and education. The need for better recall of information is in demand in a wide variety of areas. Augmented reality (AR) is a technology that may help meet this demand. AR is a hybrid of reality and virtual reality (VR) that uses the three-dimensional location viewed through a video or optical see-through media to …

Implementation And Testing Of Unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes And Detached Eddy Simulation Using An Implicit Unstructured Multigrid Scheme, Juan A. Palaez

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Investigation and development of the Detached Eddy Simulation (DES) technique for the computation of unsteady flows on unstructured grids are presented. The motivation of the research work is driven by the ultimate goal of predicting separated flows of aerodynamic importance, such as massive stall or flows over complex non-streamlined geometries. These cases, in which large regions of massively separated flow are present, represent a challenge for conventional Unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) models, that in many cases, cannot produce solutions accurate enough and/or fast enough for industrial design and applications. A Detached Eddy Simulation model is implemented and its performance compared …

Cansat 2003, Robert J. Twiggs

Robert "Bob" Twiggs STEM Education Collection

A PowerPoint Presentation created by Professor Bob Twiggs titled "CanSat 2003" from March 25, 2003.

Quakesat: Earth Detection Nano-Satellite, Robert J. Twiggs

Robert "Bob" Twiggs STEM Education Collection

A PowerPoint Presentation created by Professor Bob Twiggs titled "QuakeSat: Earth Detection Nano-Satellite" from March 21, 2003.

Development Of An Experimental Test Section For Forcing Unsteady Flow In A Linear Compressor Cascade Using Circular Rods, Patrick C. Wade

Theses and Dissertations

Upstream propagating waves impinging on a cascade of compressor blades were examined in an effort to better understand the influence of downstream components on high cycle fatigue in turbine engines. An array of cylinders was used to simulate the unsteady field generated by a rotor downstream of a set of stators. The unsteady flow upstream of a single cylinder and an array of cylinders, with and without an upstream cascade, was examined experimentally and computationally. Computational results indicate that the cylinders would only shed coherently when placed downstream of a set of blades. Coherent shedding is created when each of …

Cold-Flow Testing Of A Subscale Model Exhaust System For A Space-Base Laser, Ian S. Bautista

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to continue a study of gas-dynamic phenomena that occurred in stacked cylindrical rings of nozzles and an exhaust manifold as reported by Captain Scott Bergren in 2002. The rings and exhaust manifold were part of a 1/5-scale model of one quadrant of the conceptual Space Based Laser Integrated Flight Experiment (SBL IFX) gas dynamic laser. This model was mated to a blow- down/vacuum wind tunnel and consisted of a nozzle array, centerbody, supersonic diffuser, and a transition structure to mate the vacuum and test section. During Capt Bergren's research, supersonic flow was found to …

Experimental Demonstration Of An Algorithm To Detect The Presence Of A Parasitic Satellite, Vincent J. Dabrowski

Theses and Dissertations

Published reports of microsatellite weapons testing have led to a concern that some of these "parasitic" satellites could be deployed against US satellites to rendezvous dock and then disrupt, degrade disable or destroy the system. An effective detection method is essential. Various sensing solutions were investigated including visual, impact, and dynamic techniques. Dynamic detection, the most effective solution, was further explored. A detection algorithm was constructed and validated on the Air Force Institute of Technology's ground-based satellite simulator, SIMSAT. Results indicate that microsat microsatellites rigidly connected to a satellite can be detected with a series of small identical maneuvers utilizing …

Experimental Results For A High Swirl, Ultra Compact Combustor For Gas Turbine Engines, Ryan J. Quaale

Theses and Dissertations

Laser Doppler Velocimeter (LDV) experiments have been conducted within the cavity of an atmospheric pressure, small scale, Ultra Compact Combustor (UCC). The UCC uses highly swirled flow in a cavity around the outside periphery of the combustor to generate high centripetal acceleration in the fluid. This enhances mixing and leads to a very short axial flame length. Additionally, due to the circumferential velocity, much of the residence time required by the flame is provided by the circumference of the engine rather than axial length as in conventional combustors.

Nonlinear, Transonic Flutter Prediction For F-16 Stores Configuration Clearance, Raymond G. Toth

Theses and Dissertations

Wing flutter, or more accurately limit cycle oscillation (LCO), has been an issue for the F-16 since its operational deployment. Different store configurations and the permutations of those configurations after weapons are released will cause LCO to either disappear or appear. Unfortunately, the current method used by engineers for predicting LCO onset is based on linear, subsonic aerodynamic theory with no corrections for transonic effects. Predictions using this method are often good in frequency, but can be far off in predicting onset speed, forcing flutter engineers to rely more on experience and interpolation from similar configurations to design flight test …

Application Of Maneuver-Based Control In Variable Autonomy Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles, Alexander M. G. Walan

Theses and Dissertations

The rise in the capability and lethality of unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) historically has been paralleled by an increase in the complexity of the command and control of these systems. This trend has continued with the command and control of the current fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles such as the Predator and Global Hawk. The control of these vehicles falls on the extremes on the manual vs autonomous spectrum. As the missions tasked to these vehicles increase in complexity and lethality, operators will increasingly require the ability to tailor the amount of control exercised over the vehicle. Maneuver Based …

Experimental And Computational Failure Analysis Of Graphite/Bismaleimide Laminated Composite And Carbon Foam In Sandwich Construction, Troy C. Welker

Theses and Dissertations

Sandwich beams consisting of a carbon foam core and graphite/bismaleimide face sheets were constructed and tested. Nine specimens were fabricated using three distinct cross-ply symmetric face sheet layups with a constant core thickness. Four-point bend testing controlled by a constant rate of midspan vertical displacement was used to load the specimens to failure. Displacements and strains from the experiment were compared to analytical sandwich beam theory and displacements and failure loads were compared to a layerwise finite element solution. A phenomenological failure criterion was developed that compares favorably with experimental failure data. The finite element solution gives failure within an …

Hybrid Control Strategies For Rapid, Large Angle Satellite Slew Maneuvers, David B. French

Theses and Dissertations

This research investigated hybrid control strategies for rapid satellite pointing. First, a detailed computer simulation model of AFIT's SIMSAT satellite simulator was constructed. Control strategies were developed to enable the system to perform large-angle, 3-axis slewing maneuvers using a combination of both thrusters and reaction wheels. To handle the non-linear model, a State Dependent Riccati Equation controller was programmed and successfully controlled the computer-modeled satellite for any given slewing maneuver. A simpler PD controller was then programmed and demonstrated on the computer simulation of SIMSAT, using a combination of thruster and reaction wheel control inputs for large-angle single axis maneuvers …

Development, Fabrication And Ground Test Of An Inflatable Structure Space-Flight Experiment, Thomas L. Philley Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

Inflatable, rigidizable structures provide a solution to reduce the costs associated with design, fabrication and launch of a space system while simultaneously increasing the deployment reliability and mission success of the system%. This research focused on the follow on design, fabrication, and ground test of the Rigidizable Inflatable Get-Away-Special Experiment (RIGEX). RIGEX is a self-contained experiment that will test the deployment and structural characteristics of three inflatable rigidizable tubes. Once inflated and rigidized, each tube will be excited using piezoelectric transducers in order to collect vibration data for structural characterization. The goal of this research was to collect ground testing …

Tightly-Coupled Image-Aided Inertial Navigation System Via A Kalman Filter, Michael G. Giebner

Theses and Dissertations

Inertial navigation systems and GPS systems have revolutionized the world of navigation. Inertial systems are incapable of being jammed and are the backbone of most navigation systems. GPS is highly accurate over long periods of time, and it is an excellent aid to inertial navigation systems. However, as a military force we must be prepared to deal with the denial of the GPS signal. This thesis seeks to determine it, via simulation, it is viable to aid an INS with visual measurements.

Cargo Aircraft Bombing System (Cabs), Gurler Ari

Theses and Dissertations

From the early days of aviation, bombs typically have been carried by either fighter or bomber aircraft in the inventory. On the other hand, more and more long-range, precision-guided missiles are being produced with ranges that vary from tens to hundreds of miles. With such missiles, targets can be destroyed without placing personnel and equipment into close proximity to the targets. The mass delivery of standoff weapons could be especially advantageous during the early phases of an air campaign. This study considers the use of cargo aircraft for carrying and launching bombs and missiles. It discusses many aspects of a …

Microstructural Study Of Nanoprecipitates In Rra Treated Al-7075 T6 Using Afm/Ufm/Stem, Samuel J.M. Kuhr, Margaret Pinnell, Daniel Eylon

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

7075 T651 aluminum alloy is frequently used in aircraft applications for its high strength to weight ratio. However, aircraft parts made of this alloy have been plagued by stress corrosion cracking (SCC). Retrogression and re-aging (RRA) is a post T651 two-stage heat treatment that provides improved SCC resistance with minimal loss in tensile strength. In this study, various forms of microscopy and mechanical testing are used to investigate how the RRA process affects the microstructure.

The microscopic observations in this paper show that the precipitates in the aluminum alloy coarsen and that the grain boundary regions are depleted of copper …

Sensor-Craft Analytical Certification, Ronald W. Roberts Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

This study developed a multi-disciplinary conceptual design of a joined-wing sensor-craft. Initial analysis was conducted using an aluminum model. Linear fully stressed design and flexible aerodynamic trim were used to converge to a minimum weight design that was aerodynamically stable. This optimized design was buckling safe. A similar optimization process using non-linear fully stressed design and flexible aerodynamic trim was conducted. The non- linear structurally deformation was over ten times greater than the linear structural deformation. Again, the model was structurally and aerodynamically optimized. The linear optimization was repeated using a composite structural model incorporating Conformal Load-bearing Antenna Structures. This …

Multimission Aircraft Design Study, Payload, Ahmet Kahraman

Theses and Dissertations

It is proposed that a Multi-Mission Aircraft (MMA) be prepared to combine some or all the functions of the aging AWACS, JSTARS, RIVET JOINT, COMPASS CALL, and AECCC fleet. Three different thesis studies have been developed by three Air Force Institute of Technology GSE students to show the feasibility of replacing the current aging fleet with one or more MMA platforms. This is the thesis in which the payload issuer have been examined. Within this thesis, two different alternative architectures, which are One Tail Number and Different Tail Numbers including nine different configurations, have been considered. Estimated payload characteristics of …

Analysis Of Cooperative Behavior For Autonomous Wide Area Search Munitions, Orhan Gozaydin

Theses and Dissertations

This research investigates the effectiveness of autonomous wide area search munitions using cooperative and non-cooperative behavior algorithms under various scenarios. The scenarios involve multiple autonomous munitions searching for an unknown number of targets with different priorities at unknown locations. For the cooperative cases, communications are allowed between the munitions to help locate, identify, and decide to pursue an attack on a target or to continue searching the rest of the battlefield. For non cooperative cases, munitions independently search, detect, identify and decide to attack an identified target or continue to search. Performance of the cooperative munitions depends on numerous parameters …

Computational Fluid Dynamics Investigation Of Vortex Breakdown For A Delta Wing At High Angle Of Attack, Jacob A. Freeman

Theses and Dissertations

Using the commercially available FLUENT 3-D flow field solver, this research effort investigated vortex breakdown over a delta wing at high angle of attack (α) in preparation for investigation of active control of vortex breakdown using steady, along- core blowing. A flat delta-shaped half-wing with sharp leading edge and sweep angle of 60° was modeled at α=18° in a wind tunnel at Mach 0.04 and Reynolds number of 3.4 x 10⁵. A hybrid (combination of structured and unstructured) numerical mesh was generated to accommodate blowing ports on the wing surface. Results for cases without and with along-core blowing …

A Comparison Of Nonlinear Algorithms To Prevent Pilot-Induced Oscillations Caused By Actuator Rate Limiting, James G. Hanley

Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this study was to compare the ability of the Feedback-with-Bypass (FWB) and the Derivative-Switching (DS) flight control system filters to prevent PIO during actuator rate limiting, and the filters' effects on aircraft handling qualities. This comparison was conducted in three steps: computer simulation, ground simulation in the Large Amplitude Multimode Aerospace Research Simulator (LAMARS), and flight tests conducted in the Variable Stability In-flight Simulator Test Aircraft (VISTA). During computer simulation, the FWB filter better reduced the phase lag and prevented sustained or divergent oscillations during the closed-loop analysis. During both ground simulation and flight tests, the FWB …

Structurally Integrated Antennas On A Joined-Wing Aircraft, Ben P. Smallwood

Theses and Dissertations

This research is a foundational study of conformal, load-bearing antenna arrays embedded into the wing structure of a joined-wing aircraft. It is a multidisciplinary effort that touches on the aerodynamic structural and electromagnetic design considerations that stem from this unique type of sensor integration. The antenna performance Finite Element Model (FEM) and control surface effectiveness are investigated. The theory describing an ensemble of dipole antenna elements that conform to the shape of a section of the joined wing is developed. The far held flee space radiation pattern of the sensor is then analyzed for a wing that is deflected due …

Multimission Aircraft Design Study: Electromagnetic Compatibility, Jenna M. Davis

Theses and Dissertations

The multi-mission aircraft (MMA) technical feasibility study looked at the replacement of the aging fleet of C-135 and C-130 theater based command & control (C2) and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) fleet. It is proposed that the MMA be out-fitted to combine some or all the functions of existing AWACS, JSTARS, RIVET JOINT, COMPASS CALL, and ABC CC platforms. It would also have links to other manned or unmanned ISR aircraft, as well as satellites. The objective of the proposed design study is to examine the technical risks involved in combining multiple functions onto one aircraft that currently reside on …

A Study Of Control Laws For Microsatellite Rendezvous With A Non-Cooperative Target, Troy A. Tschirhart

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the feasibility of using a microsatellite to accomplish an orbital rendezvous with a noncooperative target, with a focus on the control laws necessary for achieving such a rendezvous. The relative motions of the microsatellite and the target satellite are described using Hill's equations. The results of an investigation of two different controller methodologies show that an impulsive thrust controller based on the Clohessey-Wiltshire solution used little fuel, but was not very robust. A continuous thrust controller using a Linear Quadratic Regulator was found to be more robust, but used much more fuel. As a final solution, a …